


The Shadows Between the Trees

by OK1MYK1



Series: A Series of Sorgan Evenings [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adorable Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV), Corin POV, Established Relationship, Force-Sensitive Corin, M/M, Tags May Change, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OK1MYK1/pseuds/OK1MYK1
Summary: "Corin wondered if it always rained this hard on Sorgan."~In which Corin wakes up to find Ad'ika is missing. He is not amused.
Relationships: Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret)/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: A Series of Sorgan Evenings [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743922
Comments: 4
Kudos: 60





	The Shadows Between the Trees

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Family and Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21758992) by [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina). 



> Hi again everyone!  
> I apologize for the wait on this sequel, real life got in the way for a minute. This sequel started small then grew to be much larger than its predecessor! If you're reading this for the first time, this fic is meant to be a sequel to The Space Between the Rain, the first fic in this series, so reading that first is recommended! I'd again like to thank LadyIrina for letting writers like me create works with Corin, as well as the Mandorin discord server for being lovely as always. Lastly, I'd like to thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy!

Corin wondered if it always rained this hard on Sorgan.

Normally, he would just spend the night with _kaysh ka’rta_ , but the shades have been lingering this evening. After years spent learning to tune out crowds of shades, back when he once walked beside his father, there should be nothing stopping him from sleeping soundly beside his beloved and his Ad'ika. 

But the spectrals were screaming tonight.

And his Ad'ika was gone.

Bolting upright in his bed, Corin silently thanked his good luck that Din had rolled over in his slumber, still sleeping softly beside him. After all, could Corin possibly explain to him why he was awake in the first place? Would Din even forgive him if Corin told the truth?

No, he would have to go alone.

Slinking quietly, Corin extracted himself from the bed and grabbed the amban rifle Din had gifted him as he creeped out of the hut.

Stepping outside, Corin could see three elder shades idling outside the same hut from when he and his _aliit_ last visited Sorgan. He wasted no time approaching them, forms flickering in surprise. His vision tunneled, he could think of nothing else except the smile of his Ad'ika, the tufts of hair on his forehead, the lines in his face.

Where could he be now?

Before he could even stop walking towards them, the shades pointed Corin somewhere beyond the hut, just around the corner. Corin picked up his pace, only to stumble upon an abandoned board game, pieces knocked ajar. Beyond the awning, the footprints of his Ad'ika were pressed into the mud, leading to the forest.

It took uncomfortably little time for Corin to stumble upon the crushed tracking fob. Panic rose within him but subsided once he noticed the corpse just underneath it. Screams again rang out through the forest, but the heavy pattering of rain upon the treetops and mighty crack of thunder made them impossible to place. Shifting his focus to the rifle haphazardly flung away from the deceased bounty hunter, Corin loops the weapon around his back.

Perhaps with this, he could make tonight up to Din.

It took the subsequent lightning flashes across the forest for Corin to realize he was not alone. Indeed, the lingering shade of the bounty hunter, so thin and worn away by time, was hardly recognizable. But in what little of his energy was left Corin could sense tiredness; A bitterness; Anger.

Corin felt blood rushing to his head with an intensity to split it in two as if the air he breathed was forcing it out of his skull. But Corin could not let the remnants of the shade haunt the village; his Ad'ika. Corin grabbed the abandoned gun and twisted it around his back. Except the rifle had been warped, breaking easily in his hold.

He did not see the shade when lightning struck again. 

What he did see next sent him spinning as his line of sight shifted out of his body and into a distant clearing. There, hiding beneath the tall grass, was his Ad'ika giggling without a care in the world. In the edges of this vision, the soft glow of spectrals traversed the tall grass like hunters, semisolid feet leaving downtrodden paths in their wake.

Of course, Corin was a fool to believe that others would not seek revenge against his son in death. He could only hope to get there in time. 

His son waded through the tall grass, oblivious to the agitated whispers somewhere in the field. The two voices were growing dangerously close toward the little one. One wrong move and - 

No, Corin wouldn't let that happen. He pushed himself faster, heaving through the flames licking at the fibers of his being. He pushed beyond himself, his fingers ghosting over blades of grass. In the distance, glowing hands combed through the tall grass, circling his Ad'ika. They were taunting his Ad'ika. They were taunting him. 

Corin prayed to the stars for the safety of his little one.

Coming to the clearing, he hears again what he did much earlier in the night. They were not screams of terror, but that of delight. The spectrals in his vision were not that of angry hunters, but rather excitable children who were fast friends to his child.

Sighing, Corin scooped us his Ad'ika and blew raspberries into his tufts of hair, the child erupting into giggles. 

“I thought I’d lost you, Ad'ika.”

Cooing softly, the child reached for his father’s face. Blinking in surprise, Corin chuckles and tilts his head down to meet that of the greedy Ad'ika, his large ears tickling his father’s neck. At that moment, the forest could have collapsed around them, and Corin would have been left awestruck at the love radiating from the touch of his precious Ad'ika.

They are stirred from the moment by the gentle tug on Corin’s jacket. 

It was the young _dala_ , “You know, he’s never mentioned you before.”

Laughing, Corin explains to the two that, since joining their _aliit_ , his Ad'ika has yet to speak. The girl admitted that they had thought his Ad'ika was unable to hear them. Because of this, they communicated to him with their hands.

The young boy gestures with his hands, but in them lies no meaning for Corin. Realizing this, the girl interprets, “So he doesn’t know what we’ve been signing?” 

Corin wishes that he brought his translator tablet with him. 

As he talks with the children, Corin can see his Ad'ika is struggling to stay awake. The girl asks where Ad'ika would like to play with them next time. The little one cooed and waved sleepily at the two spectrals. Perhaps it is time to bring Ad'ika back to bed. The walk back to the village is much more peaceful than the way through the forest. Corin finds himself almost nodding off once or twice, but shakes himself awake. 

The rain had mostly let up by the time Corin and the slumbering Ad'ika find their way back to the village. Corin nods as he passes by the elder shades, some of whom wave to the sleeping child. Tiptoeing back inside his hut, Corin carefully lifts the rifle from his shoulders while cradling the little one. Getting back into bed proves more difficult. After some careful maneuvering, Corin is back beside his love, Ad'ika resting underneath their embrace. In the stillness, crickets begin to chirp. 

But the shades are calm, and Corin is quickly back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

>  _kaysh ka’rta_ \- his heart  
>  _aliit_ \- family  
>  _dala_ \- woman


End file.
